UNITED STATES
NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
OFFICE OF NUCLEAR REACTOR REGULATION
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20555-0001
April 14, 1997
NRC INFORMATION NOTICE 94-14, SUPPLEMENT 1: FAILURE TO IMPLEMENT
REQUIREMENTS FOR BIENNIAL
MEDICAL EXAMINATIONS AND
NOTIFICATION TO THE NRC OF
CHANGES IN LICENSED OPERATOR
MEDICAL CONDITIONS
Addressees
All holders of operating licenses or construction permits for nuclear power
and non-power reactors and all licensed reactor operators and senior reactor
operators.
Purpose
The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is issuing this information
notice to remind addressees to notify the NRC of changes in a licensed
operator's physical or mental condition, as determined by a physician, that
cause the operator to fail to meet the medical requirements of Part 55,
"Operators' Licenses," of Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR
Part 55). It is expected that recipients will review the information for
applicability to their facilities and consider actions, as appropriate, to
ensure proper reporting. However, suggestions contained in this information
notice are not NRC requirements; therefore, no specific action or written
response is required.
Background
On February 24, 1994, Information Notice (IN) 94-14, "Failure To Implement
Requirements for Biennial Medical Examinations and Notification to the NRC of
Changes in Licensed Operator Medical Conditions," was issued. The information
notice was issued to alert addressees to recent problems associated with (1)
ensuring the restrictions or limitations or an operator's license were
followed and (2) reporting changes in an operator's medical condition.
Included in the information notice were examples of facility licensees that
failed to identify or report when the eyesight of licensed operators did not
meet the medical standards described in American National Standards
Institute/American Nuclear Society (ANSI/ANS) 3.4-1983, "Medical Certification
and Monitoring of Personnel Requiring Operator Licenses for Nuclear Power
Plants."
9704140018. IN 94-14, Supp. 1
April 14, 1997
Page 2 of 2
Discussion
Subsequent to the issuance of IN 94-14, a 1996 audit of licensed operator
medical conditions revealed an unexpectedly low number of license conditions
associated with hypertension or high blood pressure for operators licensed by
the Region II office in Atlanta, Georgia. Followup inspections at the
Brunswick, Catawba, Summer, Vogtle, and Watts Bar nuclear
plants and telephone discussions with the staffs of the Surry, North Anna,
Oconee, and McGuire plants, revealed that some medical staffs were not aware
that hypertension above the standards of ANSI/ANS-3.4, even if controlled by
medication or diet and monitored by the facility physician, must be reported
to the NRC in accordance with 10 CFR 55.25 for evaluation and, if appropriate,
a license amendment. In 10 CFR 55.25, the requirements specify that the NRC
be notified when a licensed operator's medical condition no longer meets the
original licensing standard and that an appropriate certification form be
submitted if the facility licensee is requesting a conditional license to
accommodate the change in the operator's physical or mental condition.
Subsequent to the above inspections, Region II received amendment requests to
place hypertension-related compensating requirements on 35 operator licenses,
as well as requests for license restrictions for 12 other types of medical
conditions, as compared to only one such request in 1995. NRC IN 91-08,
"Medical Examination for Licensed Operators" (issued February 5, 1991),
provides additional information on this subject.
This information notice reminds facility licensees that whenever a licensed
operator fails to meet any of the medical standards delineated in the
ANSI/ANS-3.4 version the facility has committed to, it should be reported to
the appropriate regional office on NRC Form 396, "Certification of Medical
Examination by Facility Licensee," for review. This submittal will include a
copy of all supporting medical information and recommended wording for the
conditional license to be issued to the affected operator.
This information notice requires no specific action or written response. If
you have any questions about this notice, please call one of the technical
contacts listed below or the appropriate Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation
(NRR) project manager.
signed by M.M. Slosson
Thomas T. Martin, Director
Division of Reactor Program Management
Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation
Technical contacts: Donald J. Florek, RI John L. Pellet, RIV
(610) 337-5185 (817) 860-8159
E-mail: djf1@nrc.gov E-mail: jlp@nrc.gov
Thomas A. Peebles, RII Stuart A. Richards, NRR
(404) 331-5541 (301) 415-1031
E-mail: tap@nrc.gov E-mail: sar@nrc.gov
Dell R. McNeil, RIII
(630) 829-9737
E-mail: drm1@nrc.gov